Jackie Griffin, president and CEO of AEGON Institutional Markets, said, “Our partnership with The Community Foundation of Louisville allows AEGON to help advance the Deep Drivers of Change which are vital to a better future for Louisville. We are proud to announce the following two grants that we believe will help change the lives of students, their families and our community for generations to come.”

(1) Vogt Achievement Scholarship Program at the Community Foundation - $60,000 to increase the number of 2009 Vogt Achievement Scholarships ($10,000 each) from 15 scholarships to 21 scholarships, so that one $10,000 scholarship is available at each of the 21 high schools in the Jefferson County Public Schools. This was the vision of Henry Vogt Heuser (1914-1999), the Louisville industrialist and philanthropist who endowed the Vogt Achievement Scholarships in 1999 at the Community Foundation. The Vogt Scholarships recognize exceptional students who have demonstrated high standards of academic achievement, character, citizenship and leadership to instill high standards of aspiration throughout each high school.

(2) Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) - $30,000 to improve the college entrance exam scores of students at JCPS high schools with low scores. The primary objective of this grant is to produce higher college test scores for the majority of students at low-scoring JCPS high schools, enabling more JCPS students to continue on to some form of higher education and have greater access to other scholarship dollars. An important, but secondary objective is to increase the number of students from low-scoring JCPS high schools that are eligible to apply for a Vogt Achievement Scholarship.

Change Makers Partnership Announces Three Grants Totaling $450,000
The second partnership to award grants was the Change Makers Partnership, which the Community Foundation formed with the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation and the UPS Foundation in Atlanta. This three-year partnership will also address the Deep Drivers of improving education and strengthening urban communities. These grants will focus on four inner-city Louisville neighborhoods: California, Phoenix Hill, Shelby Park and Smoketown.

In awarding these grants, the three foundations worked closely with Making Connections Louisville, a ten-year initiative of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which has been operating with great success in the four targeted neighborhoods. “We sought proposals that will build on neighborhood strengths and attract additional community support,” said Riggs. “We’re pleased to announce the following three grants to launch our Change Makers Partnership.”

(1) Presbyterian Community Center - $150,000 to establish a new program called “Young People Engaged in Community Change,” with six other partnering organizations. Grant funding will allow 50 youth ages 17 to 25 years old to participate in a multi-faceted academic and leadership support network in the Shelby Park and Smoketown neighborhoods.

The program will provide custom-designed educational opportunities to help improve each participant’s academic and wage-earning potential. This program was developed through the Smoketown/Shelby Park Ten-Year Redevelopment Plan for the neighborhoods to create an affordable, family-friendly community with high educational attainment for all its residents.

(2) New Directions Housing Corporation - $150,000 for “The California Collaborative” formed with two convening partners—the California Block Club Federation and the California Neighborhood Coalition—and seven collaborative partners. The California Collaborative will launch a neighborhood management system inspired by the NeighborWorks America model for robust neighborhood revitalization. The Collaborative will utilize a variety of strategies to develop and promote a positive image of California as a neighborhood with sound environmental practices, wireless Internet access and a vibrant arts scene where people choose to live.

(3) Jefferson Community & Technical College (JCTC) - $150,000 for a project to address the student-centered barriers and institutional challenges that hinder academic performance and degree attainment for students residing in the four targeted neighborhoods. In the academic years 2007 and 2008, more than 200 students from the four neighborhoods enrolled at JCTC. Due to a variety of barriers and challenges, nearly half were unable to complete a two-year degree.

JCTC will first conduct an intensive, systematic institutional assessment followed a team-based pilot project involving students, faculty and staff to remove barriers and deficiencies. Finally, the project team will develop new ways to coordinate faculty mentoring and other support services to improve student success. In future years, JCTC will increase the number of faculty and staff participating in the project to serve more students from the targeted neighborhoods.

Donor Partnership for Emergency Grants Total $656,245 for 26 Nonprofits
The third Community Foundation partnership providing grants in support of Deep Drivers was the Donor Partnership for Emergency Grants. “This partnership was created by the Community Foundation’s Board of Directors in response to cutbacks in government funding for many local human service organizations,” explained Board Chair Jerry Greenwell. “The cutbacks have come at a time when nonprofits are struggling with more requests for services due to the rising costs of food and fuel, the growing number of home foreclosures and the recent storm damage.”

The Community Foundation Board allocated $300,000 for these grants and charged the Foundation staff to invite Community Foundation donors to participate. Greenwell said, “When one of our donors learned about the financial crisis, the donor—who wishes to remain anonymous—generously offered a $150,000 challenge grant on the condition that the Foundation match it dollar for dollar with contributions from other Community Foundation donors.” More than 70 Community Foundation donors made partnership contributions that not only matched the $150,000 challenge, but exceeded it by $56,000. A total of $656,245 was distributed by the Community Foundation to the following 26 local nonprofit organizations that provide vital services to area residents needing food, clothing and shelter.

Donor Partnership for Emergency Grants

All Care Community Center	$     60,000
Arcadia Community Center	$       6,000
Catholic Charities	$     36,000
Dare to Care	$     85,000
Kentucky Harvest	$     15,000
Kentucky Refugee Ministries	$     14,500
Louisville Central Community Center	$     50,000
Neighborhood House	$     80,000
Plymouth Community Renewal Center	$     10,000
St. Anthony Community Outreach Center	$     40,000
St. George Community Center	$     10,000
Louisville Area Ministries:
East Louisville Community Ministries	$    11,245
Eastern Area Community Ministries	$    29,000
Fairdale Community Ministries	$    12,500
Fern Creek/Highview United Ministries	$    10,000
Help Ministries of Central Louisville	$    11,000
Highlands Community Ministries	$    13,000
Jeffersontown Area Ministries	$      8,500
Ministries United South Central Louisville	$    19,500
Shively Area Ministries	$    10,000
South East Associated Ministries	$    16,000
South Louisville Community Ministries	$    28,000
Southewst Community Ministries	$    17,000
St. Matthews Area Ministries	$      7,500
United Crescent Hill Ministries	$      8,500
West Louisville Community Ministries	$    48,000
Total Donor Partnership for Emergency Grants	$656,245